The present invention relates to collapsible seats, particularly of the type for mounting on a wall or similar vertical surface.
Most entrance areas of a home and many other buildings do not have enough room for a chair to be used when putting on or removing footwear. This problem can also exist in other rooms in the house or building where inadequate space does not permit the use of a full sized chair.
The collapsible wall mounted seat provides a seat which can be used where inadequate space does not permit the use of a full sized chair. The collapsible wall mounted seat can be installed on any wall or other similar vertical surface and folds easily and neatly against the wall when not in use.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a collapsible seat for mounting on a wall, said seat comprising:
a seat panel with top and bottom sides;
seat hinge means for mounting the seat panel on a wall for movement between a stowed position with the bottom side of the seat panel facing the wall and a use position projecting from the wall;
an overcenter linkage for supporting the seat panel in the use position, the linkage comprising;
a first link;
linkage mounting means for pivotally mounting the first link on the wall;
a second link;
link pivot means pivotally connecting the first and second links at a position spaced along the first link from the linkage mounting means;
linkage hinge means pivotally mounting the second link on the bottom side of the seat panel at a position spaced from the link pivot means; the linkage having a folded condition along the bottom side of the seat panel in the stowed position of the panel and an extended, overcenter condition with the first and second links forming an obtuse angle confronting the seat hinge means in the extended position of the seat;
linkage retaining means for retaining the linkage in the extended, overcenter condition; and
linkage release means for releasing the linkage from the extended, overcenter condition.
The linkage retaining means may be a tension member connecting the linkage to the seat panel. In one embodiment the tension member is a foldable link and the linkage release means is a spring loaded cable with a handle mounted under the front of the seat panel for moving the link pivot towards the seat panel and moving the linkage past its overcenter condition. This allows the linkage to fold and the seat panel to drop to the stowed position.
The second link of the linkage may be slightly longer than the first link. With the appropriate positioning of the hinges, this puts the linkage into a second overcenter condition in the stowed position of the seat panel. The seat panel is then held positively against the wall in the stowed position.
The seat may be mounted on a wall surface, or it may be recessed into a wall. The recessed arrangement is particularly suited to stud walls with drywall paneling.
In alternative arrangement, there may be provided a recessed portion in the bottom side of the seat panel, the recessed portion being suitably sized so as to receive the overcenter linkage therein in the folded condition. The linkage as well and the retaining and release means can thus be fully enclosed within the seat panel in the stowed position without requiring the seat to be recessed into a wall.
When there is provided a recessed portion in the seat panel, the seat hinge means preferably comprises a hinge arranged to be supported on the wall, the hinge being mounted within the recessed portion of the seat panel such that the seat hinge means is received within the recessed portion of the seat panel when the seat panel is in the stowed position.
In one arrangement, the linkage release means may comprises a crank element mounted on the foldable link defining a bell crank such that deflection of the crank element acts in a direction to collapse the foldable link and release the linkage retaining means.
When there is provided a crank element, the linkage release means preferably comprises a release member coupled to the crank element and wherein there is provided biasing means coupled to the release member being oriented in a direction such that the tension member maintains the overcenter linkage in the overcenter condition.